Q&A with Joe Siprut of Kerberos Capital Management
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer
Luminary Series:
Kerberos is an SEC-registered investment advisor and pioneer in legal assets and law firm lending, delivering proven results through an innovative and uncorrelated investment strategy. Kerberos’ platform and investment team, consisting of members from both the legal and private markets industries, have received mainstream recognition. They offer investors commingled and custom solutions in opportunistic credit and specialty finance, allowing them to address and accommodate a broad range of investor requirements. Combined with co-investment capital from their clients and dedicated joint venture partners, Kerberos is able to source and action a highly diversified quantum of investment opportunities.
Kerberos believes that above-average returns in ideal market conditions do not demonstrate a manager’s worth; superior performance in negative cycles is more significant. The success of Kerberos’ strategies requires an unrelenting focus on protecting principal and protecting the downside, and they structure their transactions accordingly.
The Kerberos investment approach incorporates rigorous risk oversight at both enterprise and fund levels, utilizing a mix of bottom-up asset selection and top-down portfolio management. They enforce single-position risk limits and diversification to mitigate exposure, while durational targets are set to optimize opportunities. Critical to their strategy are detailed reviews of financials, credit, and counterparty risks, seeking a balanced and secure investment environment for their clients.
Join us for a private Family Office Insights Webinar featuring Joe Siprut, founder and CEO of Kerberos Capital Management, a Chicago-based alternative investment management firm specializing in opportunistic credit with a focus on legal assets. Founded in 2018, Kerberos now manages over $330 million for a diverse group of institutional investors and family offices through its flagship funds and co-investment platform. Learn more about Kerberos’ credit-focused investment platform and approach, which features equity-like returns with little to no correlation to traditional asset classes and macro-economic cycles.
May 15, 2025 at 2:15pm-3:15pm EST
RSVP & Confirmation Required
Investors Only Please!
Family Office Insights is a voluntary, “opt-in” collaborative peer-to-peer community of single family offices, qualified investors and institutional investors. Join the community here www.familyofficeinsights.com
How does law firm lending differ from traditional litigation finance?
Traditional litigation finance has been around for decades and typically involves providing capital to fund a single case or a small portfolio of cases, with binary risk. In exchange, the funder may see high upside, similar to venture capital, but also faces the risk of complete capital loss depending on the outcome. Law firm lending, however, involves providing capital to a law firm, secured by the firm’s entire portfolio, which often includes thousands of cases. This structure diversifies the risk of individual cases, reducing the binary outcomes associated with traditional litigation finance.
What is the return profile?
We charge interest rates typically ranging from 17% to 23%, resulting in net IRRs between 15% and 19%, which has ranked in the top quartile among private credit funds historically. What makes these returns even more attractive is their low correlation with traditional equity and fixed income markets, as well as their detachment from the broader macroeconomic cycle. The cash flows backing these loans depend on law firms monetizing portions of their portfolio, usually through settlements, which are largely unaffected by the performance of the overall economy. As a result, we believe our strategies are well-positioned to perform during recessions and other economic downturns.
Why are traditional capital sources, such as banks, unable to provide this type of financing?
Banks lack the specialized knowledge needed to underwrite these loans. We employ former litigators who can differentiate between strong and weak case portfolios. Additionally, banks prefer to lend to companies with stable, predictable revenue streams. Law firm cash flows, however, tend to be uneven, depending on the timing of case settlements. While a law firm may be confident in receiving payment for a case, it often cannot predict the exact timing of that payment—an uncertainty that banks typically avoid. This is why we like to say that we make money off complexity, not risk.
Joe Siprut of Kerberos Capital Management
Joe Siprut is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Investment Officer of Kerberos Capital Management. As the CEO and CIO of Kerberos, Joe is responsible for ensuring the firm’s adherence to its core investment philosophies; communicating closely with clients on products and strategies; and overseeing firm operations.
Prior to founding Kerberos, Joe was a nationally recognized attorney. He was named to the LawDragon 500 (the top 500 attorneys in the United States across all practice areas); was repeatedly named a “Super Lawyer” and “Leading Lawyer” for litigation, class actions, and mass torts practice; was listed in America’s Top 100 Attorneys; and holds an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible peer review rating. He was called a “fearless game-changer” by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Earlier in his career, Joe was also named one of the Top 40 attorneys in Illinois under the age of 40, and was named one of the “Top 40 Under 40” by the National Trial Lawyers Association. Joe was selected for membership in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates forum, limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements.
Joe is a frequent speaker and panelist at private credit and alternative investment conferences worldwide. Joe’s national television appearances include Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield; Fault Lines; and Fox Sports, among others. Joe has also published academically, with featured papers and scholarship in the nation’s leading law reviews. Joe is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, where he served as the Managing Editor of the Northwestern Law Review.
Contact Joe: jsiprut@kerberoscm.com